Vandana K.

About

Vandana K is an independent journalist based in Delhi. She covers the environment, climate change and gender from an intersectional lens.

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18 stories

Rhinos bathe in a river at Chitwan National Park in Nepal. Image by Jitendra Raj Bajracharya/ICIMOD.

Rising illegal wildlife trade across Himalayan countries threatens the mountain ecosystem

Vandana K. 29 Apr 2026

Trilokinath glacier valley in Lahaul. Image courtesy of Pushpendra Pandey.

The driest spring in four centuries in the Western Himalayas

Vandana K. 16 Mar 2026

Coenobita brevimanus or Indo hermit crab, residing in a shell of the Giant African snail at a waterfall on Little Andaman. Representative image by Vandana K.

Marine litter traps thousands of hermit crabs

Vandana K. 10 Mar 2026

Sushma Devi (in green), a paryavaran sakhi, demonstrates the use of an air quality monitor to women in Mahuda village, Dhanbad. Image courtesy of Deshaj Abhikram.

Grassroots women map air pollution hotspots, spur a coal company to curb dust

Vandana K. 11 Dec 2025

Rhinophis siruvaniensis. Image by by Umesh P.K.

Scientists describe a new species of burrowing shieldtail snake

Vandana K. 9 Dec 2025

Lateral views of D. grayi, D. deshayesi and D. strangulata. Images by Shah et al.

Researchers identify four species of sea butterflies new to India

Vandana K. 27 Nov 2025

A specimen of Charmus laneus from Coimbatore, which is the type locality of Charmus indicus. C. indicus has now been synonymised with C. laneus. Image by Shauri Sulakhe.

Scientists correct a century-old misidentified scorpion and describe a new species

Vandana K. 17 Nov 2025

Himalayan pine. Representative image by Wendy Cutler via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Fallen pine needles could help India cut carbon emissions

Vandana K. 21 Aug 2025

Women of the Bishnoi community have been associated with environment protection since as far back as 1604, when two women gave their lives to protect trees. Image by Harsh Vardhan.

How the Bishnoi made environmental protection central to their identity [Book Review]

Vandana K. 6 Aug 2025

Sunil Mahadeorao Bhadke, who uses both rainfed and flood irrigation on his 12-acre cotton farm in Akhatwada village in Amravati district, Maharashtra, has noticed the well water reducing. Image by Vandana K.

India’s cotton exports could threaten Maharashtra’s groundwater

Vandana K. 22 May 2025

[Book Review] A compelling memoir of a mountaineer-geologist

Vandana K. 2 Oct 2024

[Explainer] What is micro irrigation?

Vandana K. 10 Sep 2024

[Book Review] Who are the true stewards of the forests? Decoding forest laws and community rights

Vandana K. 3 Jul 2024

Rajiya, a resident of Kishan Kunj, a slum in east Delhi, stands on her home’s roof where she has spread damp jute bags to create cooling indoors. Image by Vandana K for Mongabay India.

Extreme heat compounds vulnerabilities in low income neighbourhoods

Vandana K. 27 Jun 2024

Becquartina bicolor sitting on a leaf in Balpakram National Park in South Garo Hills in Meghalaya. This was the first individual of the species sighted by Sarkar in 2017. The cicada’s wings were damaged when it was caught by a bat. Image by Vivek Sarkar.

Researchers describe a new cicada species, bicolor butterfly, from Meghalaya

Vandana K. 16 May 2024

Revolutionising dairy farming with hydroponic fodder amidst a fodder shortage

Vandana K. 22 Apr 2024

Malaria-carrying mosquitoes shift homes from forests to rice fields

Vandana K. 3 Jan 2024

Gig workers in India are exposed to highly polluted air and carcinogens, finds preliminary study

Vandana K. 17 Aug 2023

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